THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 5, NUMBER 29, JULY 24, 2005

Telephone, Telegraph, TELL ME?

            When I was younger we use to joke about people who simply could not keep any information that they had to themselves.  We used to say that the quickest ways to get news around were the telephone, telegraph, and tell “so and so.”    I guess to be more accurate today we would have to say telephone, cellular phone, e-mail, and tell so and so.  Even though we used to joke about it, the truth is that it really is not funny.  One thing the Bible clearly teaches us is the need to control our tongues and not to feel compelled to tell everything we know.

            Good news travels fast.   Bad news travels faster, and gossip travels the fastest of all.  I wonder why that is, especially in light of all that the Word of God has to say about it.   Let’s take a short trip through the book of Proverbs and see what God has to say about this matter.

            First of all, there are wonderful uses for the tongue.  Consider Prov. 8:6-10.  Solomon wrote, “Listen, for I shall speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will produce right things. For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.  All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them.  They are all straightforward to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.  Take my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold.”  

            God has given us the ability to communicate with speech and that serves as a glorious medium of instruction.   We know that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17).    From our tongues can come forth words of righteousness, meant to uplift, build, and encourage individuals.  Indeed, our tongues can be used as the medium through which the Gospel of the Lord Jesus is spread and the availability of salvation made known to all.  Proverbs 11:30 tells us, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.”

            Look at a few statements found in Proverbs 10.  Verses 11-14 tell us, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.  Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.  On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding.  Wise men store up knowledge, but with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.”

            Why is it that some folks just feel that they have to tell everything they know – and in many cases, not even being sure if it is true or not?  I am exaggerating for affect here, but in years gone by there have been times when I have preached on a particular subject, addressed some specific controversy or some unusually hot topic, and before the final Amen was said, what I had said, and never accurately, had been broadcast several states away.

            Is it possible that some don’t know the damage that can be done by a loose tongue?  Is it possible that some don’t know that they will be held accountable for weakening the faith of some because they did not restrain their lips?  Let’s let God through Solomon tell us some more.

            In Proverbs 6:12-14 we read, “A worthless person, a wicked man, is the one who walks with a false mouth, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers; who with perversity in his heart devises evil continually, who spreads strife.”  In chapter 11:9, we find, “With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.”   Chapter 16:28 says, “A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.”  How about one more?  Chapter  20:19 informs us, “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip.”  Amen, I say; and again I say, “Amen!”

            Whispering, backbiting, gossiping, lack of common sense and restraint with the tongue, can do irreparable damage.  It can be like a fire gone out of control, or perhaps a more appropriate image is that of a wind blowing trash, debris, and garbage all over a city.

            I like what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:27-28.  “He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.  Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is counted prudent.”

            I will freely tell you that I am about to take a passage out of its context, but hopefully you will be able to understand why.  In Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus said, “And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell.”

             We understand that Jesus is not really saying to pluck out your eye or to cut off your hand.  He is emphasizing how serious a matter sin is and how much more important the spiritual is than the physical.  I believe in some cases we could say, “If your computer, with its e-mail, causes you to sin, THROW IT AWAY!   If your telephone or cell phone causes you to stumble, destroy it, smash it, throw it away.  It is better for you to go through life without e-mail and a telephone than for your whole body to go into hell because of them.”

                                                            Greg Litmer